Keyboardist Joel Cummins says the tour that will bring Umphrey’s McGee to Mobile next week is a “typical spring tour” – and then goes on to explode the usual understanding of typical.

Umphrey's McGee, a group that has made multiple appearances at the Hangout Music Fest, plays the Mobile Saenger Theatre next week. (Chris Monaghan photo courtesy of All Eyes Media)

Normal typical: Build a playlist of singles and crowd favorites, and work in a few tracks from your most recent release, or the album you’re about. Fifteen to 20 songs arranged in a set list with a nice flow, and you’ve got it covered.

Umphrey’s McGee typical: “We’ll play two sets of music,” says Cummins. “We have about 200 original tunes at this point, so over four or five days, we’ll kind of run through all of them. We usually won’t repeat much. The nice thing about having a catalog and being a band for 16 years now is we can do that. It keeps it more interesting for us, and it keeps it more interesting for the fans, too.”

Umphrey’s started with a distinctive sound, combining progressive rock intricacy with the free-flowing improvisation of jam music. That seemingly counterintuitive blend is still the cornerstone, though it has grown to include other elements and the band is known for challenging itself with unusual concert formats, such as its interactive “UMBowl” concerts, where fans can determine everything from which songs are played to which band members play which instruments.

The members of the Chicago based band aren’t strangers to Mobile, though their April 16 show brings them to a new venue. “We played at the Soul Kitchen probably 12 years ago,” says Cummins. “Since then we’ve played at the Hangout Festival I think three times, which is a fantastic event. It’s been great being able to build the audience like that and now being able to play a gorgeous room like the Saenger Theatre. We’re very excited to be back.”

Of the Hangout Fest, Cummins added, “I think people down in southern Alabama are a little bit spoiled by a festival in the sand where you can walk around without shoes on. Being from the Midwest, that sort of thing will just get you lots of injuries and mud.”

The upcoming show will feature neither sand, injuries nor mud, if all goes according to plan. But it likely will feature songs from “Similar Skin,” the album slated for release this June.

“We’ve done some albums where it’s been all new material and some where we’ve played road-tested tunes,” Cummins says. This one’s in-between: “I think there are six or seven songs from the album that are currently in the rotation.”

Advance information on “Similar Skin” suggests that for this project, the group pared down its jam tendencies and aimed for leaner, more concise arrangements. “I think as far as the songwriting and the production and what we did in the studio this time, it’s up there with our best,” Cummins says.

He hopes fans will take a look at some of the deluxe packages available for pre-order at www.umphreys.com and www.similarskin.com. “We love the ability to create in the studio, and for us to continue doing that we need the support of the fans,” he says, matter-of-factly.

Mainly, though, he’s grateful to have a thriving corps of fans who’ve grown with the band. He says they tend to be “people that expect the unexpected and just are looking for something different every time.”

“Some people like the heavier stuff, some people like the dancier stuff, some people like our funkier side, some people like the more progressive stuff,” he says. “That it allows us to keep doing different styles every night.”

Umphrey’s McGee performs Wednesday, April 16, at the Mobile Saenger Theatre. The 8 p.m. show also will feature Lionize. Tickets are $25, available at the Mobile Civic Center box office and through www.ticketmaster.com. The Saenger box office will be open prior to the show.